REPOST: BurmaNet News: November 1-3, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

THE BURMANET NEWS
A listserv covering Burma
www.burmanet.org
November 1-3, 2003 Issue #2359

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar monks under curfew after religious unrest leaves dozen dead
AP: U.N. envoy schedules meetings for Myanmar mission
AFP: Indian vice president meets Myanmar leaders, agreements signed AP:
U.N. envoy lays groundwork to visit Myanmar prisoners

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara: 50,000 Rohingyas poised to cross into Bangladesh

MONEY
Doordarshan TV: India Offers $57M Line of Credit to Burma After Talks
Hindustan Times: India seeks doubling of trade turnover with Myanmar
fnWeb: Malaysian Ministry of Commerce pushes for increase in Thai-Burna
trade AFP: Myanmar jade and gem sales slip to 17.6 million dollars:
report AFP: Money-laundering task force calls for sanctions on Myanmar
Narinjara: Burma-Bangladesh border trade normal

GUNS
BP: Karen Soldiers Killed

REGIONAL
Xinhua: Myanmar, India sign visa exemption agreement
Narinjara: Influx of Burmese Muslim feared

INTERNATIONAL
BP: Burma Sanctions ‘Not Helping’

OPINION / OTHER
Dallas Morning News: Burma: to go or not to go
Rep. Pitts: SPDC action latest act in regime’s brutal repression of
opponents OSI Burma Project: Online Application


----INSIDE BURMA----

Agence France Presse   November 2, 2003
Myanmar monks under curfew after religious unrest leaves dozen dead

Myanmar's monks have been ordered to observe a curfew and monasteries
and mosques are under surveillance after violence between Buddhists and
Muslims left a dozen dead, officials and witnesses said Sunday.

The unrest broke out in the central town of Kyaukse on October 19 and
spread to the city of Mandalay and then on to the capital Yangon,
unnerving the ruling military which has rolled out a sweeping security
crackdown.

Bangladesh has also tightened security along its frontier with Myanmar
fearing a new influx of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims in the wake of the
communal riots across the border.

Myanmar's secretive junta confirmed last week that there had been
"disturbances... between people professing different faiths" and said
Kyaukse had been slapped with a general curfew, but that the troubled
had died down.

Eyewitness reports obtained by AFP said the trouble began in Kyaukse
during mid-October festivals to mark the Buddhist Lent, including
competitions and festivities centred on Buddhist monasteries.

After a minor dispute over one of the competitions a thrown was stone
into a monastery compound, sparking anger among the monks who wrongly
believed the occupants of a nearby mosque were responsible.

Several Muslims were injured in the ensuing rampage, while others
fearing for their lives were taken into the homes of their Buddhist
neighbours for protection, the witnesses said.

Despite the resolution of that conflict, exaggerated rumours of the
trouble spread to politically active monks in Mandalay who travelled to
Kyaukse, sparking riots and fires which left a dozen dead including a
pregnant woman.

The ruling junta, which is ever fearful of public unrest that could
flare into protests against the regime, took swift action against the
Buddhist clergy which have been involved in political rebellion in the
past.

Buddhism's ruling body, the Sangha, issued a notification banning all
monks from leaving their monasteries between 7:00 pm and 4:00 am, a
township-level official told AFP.

"We have also summoned Muslim leaders and trustees of all the mosques in
Yangon and warned them against taking matters into their own hands by
way of safe-guarding their respective mosques," he said.

Eyewitnesses said monks seen patronising tea-shops after dark were
rounded up by security personnel in the satellite town of Dagon in
eastern Yangon.

In Yangon and Mandalay authorities secured permission to search
monasteries for unauthorised pamphlets and other documents deemed to be
inflammatory to race relations, and monks' registration papers were
checked.

Security officials were also monitoring mosques and monasteries and any
monks seen travelling in and out of towns and cities were watched
closely.

"All this indicates that military authorities are clamping down hard on
those attempting to disturb the peace and will brook no nonsense from
anyone including Buddhist monks," said one local political analyst.

The government is already on alert for unrest after May 30 clashes
between a pro-junta mob and supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi which led to
the democracy leader's arrest.

In Bangladesh, the BSS news agency said border guards and police have
been asked to be alert along the southeastern frontier amid the unrest.

It cited unconfirmed reports that panic-stricken ethnic Rohingya Muslims
had thronged near the Bangladesh border following the clashes.

In the early 1990s some 250,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees flooded across
the border into Bangladesh claiming atrocities by Myanmar's military
government. Most of them were later repatriated but some 20,000 remain
in border camps.


Associated Press Worldstream   November 3, 2003
U.N. envoy schedules meetings for Myanmar mission
By AYE AYE WIN; Associated Press Writer

A U.N. human rights envoy will meet with Myanmar's prime minister on
Tuesday as he resumes an aborted mission to assess the plight of
political prisoners in the military-ruled country, the envoy said.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian professor, said late Monday that
before meeting Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt, he will also meet
representatives of the U.N. International Labor Organization and staff
of international private agencies.

Forced labor is one of several issues Pinheiro is expected to look at
during his mission. He is on a weeklong visit to "take stock of human
rights developments ... and follow up on key issues he had previously
looked at," a U.N. statement said.

Pinheiro abruptly cut short his last visit in March after finding a
listening device in Insein prison, where he was interviewing political
detainees. He later accused the junta of making "absurd" excuses to keep
political opponents in prisons.

He said Monday he expected to return to the prison during this visit.

Pinheiro said he also requested a meeting with pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, who is under detention at her Yangon home.

Pinheiro has said the junta holds 1,200-1,300 political prisoners, many
old and ailing, even after the releasing about 600 since starting
reconciliation talks in October 2000 with Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi was detained following a bloody clash on May 30 between a group
of her supporters and a pro-government mob in northern Myanmar.

Pinheiro said in a report to the U.N. General Assembly last month that
the May 30 events "spoiled all the progress achieved in
confidence-building and have shattered people's hope for political
transition."

Pinheiro's other concerns include the exercise of basic political
freedoms and civil rights, the administration of justice, and chances
for an independent evaluation of alleged human rights violations in Shan
State, the U.N. statement said.

The Myanmar junta is accused of widespread human rights abuses in the
eastern Shan State, including using rape by soldiers as a weapon of
terror to fight ethnic insurgency.

Pinheiro is slated to present preliminary findings from this week's
mission to the United Nations on Nov. 12.


Agence France Presse   November 3, 2003
Indian vice president meets Myanmar leaders, agreements signed

Indian Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat met Myanmar's leaders and
witnessed the signing of two agreements with the military-run state at
the start of a five-day visit, state media said Monday.

Shekhawat is the highest-ranking Indian leader to visit Myanmar in 16
years, since the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was Yangon in 1987,
and the trip signals a warming of bilateral ties.

After his arrival Sunday, Shekhawat met the Myanmar junta's number two
Vice-Senior General Maung Aye and other figures in the regime including
the ministers for foreign affairs, home affairs and rail transport.

Indian and Myanmar officials then signed an agreement on visa exemption
for official and diplomatic passports, and a memorandum of understanding
between Myanmar's education ministry and India's human resource
development ministry.

Maung Aye, who is Myanmar's army chief, hosted a dinner for Shekhawat
which was also attended by Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt and the
ruling State Peace and Development Council's first and second
secretaries.

The official New Light of Myanmar went into great detail over
preparations for the Indian leader's visit which began with an honour
guard before he was driven into Yangon under archways bearing welcoming
banners and national flags.

India's relations with Myanmar have been strained in the past,
particularly after New Delhi gave sanctuary to exile groups following
the military's seizure of power in Yangon in 1988.

But the two countries have exchanged a number of high-level visits in
recent years and India in 2002 resumed arms shipments to Myanmar to
counter what it saw as the growing influence of China.

The Myanmar Times said in its Monday edition that Shekhawat was expected
to see Myanmar's leader, Senior General Than Shwe and meet Yangon's
business community during his visit.

"It is an invaluable opportunity to deepen the dialogue between the two
sides," India's ambassador to Yangon Rajiv Bhatia told the semi-official
weekly.

Economic ties between Myanmar and India are becoming increasingly
important, with bilateral trade valued more than 400 million dollars in
the fiscal year to March 2003, it said.

Both sides have said they hope to boost it to one billion dollars by
2006.

Myanmar exports mainly beans and pulses, timber, and gems to India, from
which it buys pharmaceuticals, building materials, steel, and wheat.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung visited New Delhi in July as part of
an Asian tour partly aimed at defusing anger over the junta's decision
to take opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi into detention on May 30.

India has expressed concern over the situation of Aung San Suu Kyi, who
is now under house arrest, which provoked an angry response from the
international community and increased sanctions from the United States
and the European Union.

However, analysts say that while Myanmar maintains strong trading links
with China and India, the tighter sanctions will have little effect on
the regime.


Associated Press Worldstream   November 3, 2003
U.N. envoy lays groundwork to visit Myanmar prisoners
By AYE AYE WIN; Associated Press Writer

A U.N. human rights envoy on Monday met with Myanmar government
ministers to lay the groundwork for his renewed mission to assess the
plight of political prisoners in the military-ruled country.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian professor, is on a weeklong visit to
"take stock of human rights developments ... and follow-up on key issues
he had previously looked at," a U.N. statement said.

Pinheiro abruptly cut short his last visit in March after finding a
listening device in the Insein prison where he was interviewing
political detainees. He later accused the junta of making "absurd"
excuses to keep political opponents in prisons.

Pinheiro, who arrived Saturday, met with United Nations workers in
Yangon on Sunday to discuss who he would like to see. On Monday, he met
with Foreign Minister Win Aung and his deputy, Khin Maung Win.

Before driving to their office, Pinheiro told reporters he expected his
schedule to become clearer after the meeting. He is slated to present
his preliminary findings to the United Nations on Nov. 12.

Pinheiro's particular concerns include political prisoners, the exercise
of basic political freedoms and civil rights, the administration of
justice, and chances for an independent evaluation of alleged human
rights violations in Shan State, the U.N. statement said.

The Myanmar junta is accused of widespread human rights abuses in the
eastern Shan State, including using rape by soldiers as a weapon of
terror to fight ethnic insurgency.

A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Pinheiro would
seek to visit Insein prison again.

Pinheiro has said the junta holds 1,200-1,300 political prisoners, many
old and ailing, even after the government released about 600 since
starting reconciliation talks in October 2000 with pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi was detained following a bloody clash on May 30 between a group
of her supporters and a pro-government mob in northern Myanmar. She is
currently under house arrest in Yangon.

Pinheiro said in a report to the U.N. General Assembly last month the
May 30 events "spoiled all the progress achieved in confidence-building
and have shattered people's hope for political transition."


----ON THE BORDER----

Narinjara News   November 1, 2003
50,000 Rohingyas poised to cross into Bangladesh
BDR on red alert, border closed

Dhaka, November 1: About 50,000 Rohingyas from the Burma province of
Rakhine (Arakan) have camped across the Naf river for last couple of
days with intent to cross into Bangladesh, sending the BDR on red alert
and also closing the border, according to today’s the daily star.

The authorities of Bangladesh are trying to confirm information from the
Bangladesh-Burma border about the possible influx of the Rohingya
Muslims for fear of communal riots in Rakhine state, the paper said.

Cox’sbazar Deputy Commissioner Saifuddin Ahmed told The Daily Star by
phone last night that the border was sealed to roll back any influx of
Rohingyas from cross the river bordering between the two neighbouring
countries.

“ We have mounted a watch on the border and the BDR (Bangladesh Rifles)
has been put on red alert,” the deputy commissioner said.

On the report on Burma border force, Nakasa, building up troops along
the border, the district administrator described it as unconfirmed.

BBc Radio last night quoted Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan as saying
the precautionary measure was taken to head off any intrusion.

The border unease coincided with a discussion on the issue of Burma
refugees at a meeting between the Bangladesh Disaster Management and
Relief Minister and second and third secretaries of the US embassy in
Dhaka on Thursday.

>From December 1991 to March 1992, between 210,000 and 250,000 Rohingyas
fled Rakhine state in west Burma to Bangladesh for fear of torture,
religious persecution and forced labour by Burmese army.

All but around 20,000 Rohigyas who fled Burma in 1991-92 returned home
under an initiative of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR).

The Burma military government said it would accept only 7,500 of the
21,800, whose identities as Burma nationals were verified.

The UN body requested Bangladesh to integrate the remaining 14,000 with
local Bangladeshi, but Bangladesh did not agree to the UNHCR request.

Scattered repatriations have taken place since 1997, but mostly the
process stalled over the Refugees’ unwillingness to return and the
lengthy verification process on the Burma side.


----MONEY----

Doordarshan television, New Delhi   November 3, 2003
India Offers $57M Line of Credit to Burma After Talks

India today announced a 57m-dollar line of credit to Myanmar (Burma),
which gave an assurance that it would not allow its territory to be used
for anti-India activities. The two sides also agreed to explore ways of
joint efforts (preceding four words as heard) to make the border
peaceful. During wide-ranging talks Vice-President Bhairon Singh
Shekhawat had with top Myanmarese leader and Sr Gen Than Shwe, Yangon
(Rangoon) shared concerns on terrorism and the insurgency problem in the
Indian
northeastern region. (Video shows Indian Vice-President Shekhawat,
accompanied by some unidentified Burmese officials, visiting Shwe Dagon
Pagoda in Rangoon)


Hindustan Times   November 3, 2003
India seeks doubling of trade turnover with Myanmar
Madhukar Upadhyay (PTI)
Yangon (Myanmar)

Asserting that Myanmar has a "special place" in its 'Look East' policy,
India on Monday sought doubling of the bilateral trade turnover to $1
billion in the next three years and said joint projects in areas of
information technology, telecom, hydrocarbons, engineering goods and
pharmaceuticals held promise.

"The India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee has proposed to raise the
turnover to $1 billion in the next three years through expansion and
diversification of trade. This is a challenging but feasible task," Vice
President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat told the captains of Myanmarese
industry.

Shekhawat, who arrived here on Sunday on a five-day visit at the head of
a high-level delegation, said while the Committee would focus on
removing impediments and providing an appropriate framework at the
policy level, a dynamic private sector, apex chambers of commerce and
leaders of industry should achieve the target.

Observing that trade, including border trade, was a vital component of
their relationship, he said the Tamu-Kalay road was a symbol of joint
endeavours between the two neighbours.

"IT and telecommunications, hydrocarbons, light engineering goods,
pharmaceuticals and food processing are areas of promise," he said
adding human resource development had become a major field of
cooperation between the two sides.


fnWeb.com (Financial Times Information)   November 3, 2003
Thai-Malaysian Relationship Set to Strengthen

fnWEB - Bangkok - The relationship between Thailand and Malaysia looks
set to remain strong despite the Malaysian leadership change, according
to a report published by the Kasikorn Research Centre.

The report said that although Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir
Mohamad had now formally handed over power to his successor Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi, the fact that Mr. Badawi was familiar with Thailand meant
that there would be no immediate impact on the relationship between the
two nations.

Noting the long and close relationship between the former premier and
the new one, the report said that Mr. Badawi would ensure Malaysia's
continued transformation into a modern nation, with support for
liberalized trade and investment.

The report predicted that Mr. Badawi would also continue to promote
close economic and political relations within the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and that the accession to the
premiership of a leader with a notably more conciliatory style was
likely to see a shift in focus towards closer relationships with the
West.

The report also noted that during his 22 years in power, Mr. Mahathir
had successfully followed his own economic policies and dismantled
numerous obstacles to pull the country free from Asia's economic crisis.

However, a number of economic challenges remained for Mr. Badawi,
including the budget deficit and growing competition from China. The
research centre advocated that Mr. Badawi took urgent steps to adjust
and develop Malaysia's economic strategies in order to pull in more
foreign investment.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce is pushing for an increase in trade
between Thailand and Myanmar, and has pledged to offer full support for
the purchase of Myanmar-manufactured goods, Commerce Minister Adisai
Bodharamik announced on Friday.

Speaking in response to requests from Rangoon for Thailand to purchase
more goods from Myanmar, particularly raw materials, Mr. Adisai said
that Thailand was endeavouring to offer full backing.

Noting that Myanmar could act as a source of raw materials for
Thai-manufactured goods, he said that an increase in trade would benefit
both nations.

Last year Thailand exported goods to Myanmar - both through direct trade
and through border trade - worth around US $ 300 million, and growth
over the first nine months of 2003 has stood at an impressive 30
percent, the first year in which bilateral trade has recorded such as
large increase.

Mr. Adisai predicted that this year Thailand would export US $ 400 worth
of goods to Myanmar, and that Thailand would hold the balance of trade
(discounting the natural gas purchased from Myanmar by Thailand).

Urging Myanmar to boost the value of its trade with other countries, he
said that this would serve to benefit Myanmar itself, which currently
enjoys a US $ 200 million trade surplus with its major trading partners:
Thailand, the United States, India and Japan.

The commerce minister said that new regulations issued by Rangoon were
greatly facilitating trade between the two nations.

"In the near future we will see an increase in trade, in particular
through the partnership projects among the four ECS (Economic
Cooperation Strategy) nations", he said.


Agence France Presse   November 3, 2003
Myanmar jade and gem sales slip to 17.6 million dollars: report

Myanmar's October gem auction netted 17.6 million dollars for the state
and its mining partners, down on last year due to a weaker international
market, a report said Monday.

Industry experts cited the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) earlier this year, which badly affected China -- the main market
for jade -- and the war in Iraq as the main cause of the downturn, said
the semi-official Myanmar Times.

Just 348 out of 1,042 rough jade lots were sold, earning 7.9 million
dollars, down from 8.6 million dollars last October, it said.

Gem sales were also down, with 44 of 263 gem lots going under the hammer
accounting for sales topping 9.6 million dollars. The weekly newspaper
did not give a comparitive figure from gem sales last year.

"One of the main factors for a decrease in gem sales may be the recent
war in Iraq as many ruby buyers come from the Arab world," a Myanmar
gems trader was quoted as saying.

Analysts in Yangon said the slump matched the general malaise in
Myanmar's creaking economy, which has suffered from a tightening of
trade sanctions by Washington which followed the May arrest of
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

While jade and gem sales slipped, sales of pearls soared 75 percent to
175,000 dollars, the Times said.

"But most of the pearls were bought by Myanmar," said Aye Han, assistant
general manager of Myanma Pearl Enterprise. "We need to do more
marketing to attract foreign buyers."

More than 838 gem merchants, including 457 overseas buyers from nine
countries, reportedly took part in the week-long auction which ended on
October 22.

Through the event, the government can closely control sales of the
country's precious stones, although many of Myanmar's gems are smuggled
out of the country and sold to merchants in China, Thailand, Hong Kong
and elsewehere.


Agence France Presse   November 3, 2003
Money-laundering task force calls for sanctions on Myanmar

An international anti-money laundering task force called Monday on its
member states to impose sanctions on Myanmar, saying it had not
cooperated in the battle against money laundering.

The Financial Action Task Force said "additional countermeasures"
against Myanmar should be adopted, under which the nation's financial
institutions are required to identify their clients and report any
suspicions of money-laundering.

Myanmar is one of nine nations on a list created by the FATF to single
out countries seen as slack in the fight against money recycled from the
proceeds of illicit activities.

Until now, only the Pacific island state of Nauru was currently
subjected to such "additional countermeasures".

The FATF identified Myanmar as a non-cooperative country in June 2001.
The task force said last month that the situation had worsened in
Myanmar, and gave it until November 3 to present mutual legal assistance
legislation to parliament and issue comprehensive rules and regulations
for anti-money laundering legislation.

"Myanmar has still not addressed major deficiencies in its anti-money
laundering regime," the task force said in a statement.

"In particular, Myanmar has failed to establish a framework to engage in
effective international cooperation in the fight against money
laundering, and its anti-money laundering law continues to lack the
implementing regulations necessary to make it enforceable," it said.

The FATF, based in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development's headquarters in Paris, said it would review the situation
in Myanmar at its next plenary meeting on February 25-27, 2004.

"The FATF hopes that, prior to that meeting, Myanmar will
comprehensively address the deficiencies in its anti-money laundering
regime.

The FATF was created in 1989 by the OECD to fight dirty money and has
since the September 11 attacks also worked to stamp out the flow of
funds to extremist organisations.

The FATF is an independent body with 31 member countries and
governments. The European Commission and the Gulf Co-operation Council
are also members.

The nine countries on the uncooperative list are Ukraine, the Cook
Islands, Egypt, Guatemala, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nigeria and the
Philippines.



Narinjara News   November 2, 2003
Burma-Bangladesh border trade normal

Cox’sbazar: Border trade between Burma and Bangladesh through
Maungdaw-Teknaf transit point was going as usual and overall situation
in the border area was normal yesterday, according to a businessman
here.

“ Everything including bilateral trade was normal and the border with
Burma was not sealed,” said a local authority from Cox’sbazar district
town, bordering Burma. .

It was learnt that some traders from Bangladesh have gone to Maungdaw of
Rakhine state yesterday and some traders from Burma also crossed over
Bangladesh for businesses.

Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) said no Burmese Muslim has entered Bangladesh
territory so far and the Teknaf township administration has asked the
local union council chairman to remain alert against any illegal
intrusion.

According to local sources, the panic stricken people of some bordering
areas of Burma including Sittwe ( Akyab) and Rathidaung have camped near
Bangladesh border following communal riots in that country for the past
two weeks.

Bangladesh security forces have tightened security along Bangladesh
Burma border to check possible influx of Burmese Muslim Refugees into
Bangladesh territory following the reported communal riots, the
Bangladesh local news agency BSS reports said.


----GUNS----

Bangkok Post   November 3, 2003
Karen Soldiers Killed

Tak _ Two Democratic Karen Buddhist Army soldiers were killed in a clash
with Thai soldiers in Mae Sot district and a Thai man was arrested
trying to smuggle a pick-up truck across the border to Burma yesterday.

The clash took place after soldiers of the 442nd Infantry Company
stopped the vehicle for a search. During the search, DKBA soldiers who
had crossed from Burma opened fire. After the five-minute clash, one
DKBA soldier was found dead. Another DKBA soldier is thought to have
been killed, and his body dragged to the other side.


----REGIONAL----

Xinhua General News Service   November 3, 2003
Myanmar, India sign visa exemption agreement

YANGON, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) --Myanmar and India signed an agreement here
Sunday on visa exemption for official and diplomatic passport holders of
the two countries, state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported
Monday.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between the Myanmar
Ministry of Education and the Indian Ministry of Human Resources
Development.

The signing took place shortly after the arrival of Indian
Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who is the highest-ranking
Indian leader to have visited Myanmar since December 1987 when the late
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi paid a visit to the country.

In the past few years, Myanmar and India inked a series of agreements on
border trade, drug control, science and technology, and culture, as well
as MoUs on cooperation in agriculture and related industries,
information technology, and the establishment of a Joint Trade
Committee.

Shekhawat arrived here earlier on Sunday on a four-day official visit at
the invitation of Myanmar's Vice-Chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council Vice Senior-General Maung Aye.


Narinjara News   November 2, 2003
Influx of Burmese Muslim feared

Dhaka: Additional deployment of Bangladesh security forces along the
country’s frontier with Burma continued apprehending a new influx of
Muslim Refugees from Arakan state, western province of Burma, into
Bangladesh territory.

The communal riots have caused unrest in the various cities and towns of
Burma including its capital Rangoon although the situation was
officially stated by military junta to be normal.

According to today’s The Independent, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and
members of law enforcement agencies have been placed on high alert along
Bangladesh border with Burma in Teknaf, Ukhiya and Naikongshari
Township.

They are under orders to resist influx of refugees from across the
border, the paper said.

Bangladesh Home Minister Altaf Hossian Chowdhury yesterday visited
Cox’zbazar and discussed the situation with the local administration.

According to local sources that thousands of the Muslim have gathered
along the bank of the Nef River the Burma side night to cross the border
for seeking shelter in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in the Burmese refugee camps at
Nayapara in Teknaf and at Kutubalang in Ukhiya under the Cox’sbazar
district.

However, normal movement of people with exit permit through authorised
check posts in Bangladesh continues.

A senior official of the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which
is monitoring the situation round the clock, also described the
situation along the border as normal.

“ Nobody will be allowed to intrude into the country”, said the deputy
commissioner of Coxsbazar, added” We have taken all measures to resist
the possible intrusion of Rohingyas. We have asked all the agencies in
Cox’zbazar and the local leaders to provide necessary assistance to the
BDR to keep vigilance on the border.”

Another sources said, a top leader of Burmese military junta from
Rangoon met with Brigadier- General Aung New, Nasaka commander ,
Buddhist monks and Muslim leaders at Maungdaw on 30 October. During the
five hours meeting, he urged the Buddhist Monks and Muslim leaders of
Maungdaw to take initiatives to take back the Rohingyas Muslim.

He also ordered the Nasaka commander and representatives of the
concerned authorities to take special measures for controlling the
situation prevailing in the border area recently.

Sources said, around 50,000 Rohingyas Muslim from Burma have camped
across the Nef River for the last three days with intend to cross into
the Bangladesh for fear of religious riots.

The BDR is keeping watch over the boats on Naf River since October 30.
All precautionary measures have been taken by Bangladesh authority
concerned, it was learnt from local authority of Cox’s bazar.


----INTERNATIONAL----

Bangkok Post    November 1, 2003
Burma Sanctions ‘Not Helping’
By Bhanravee Tansubhapol

Hungary disagreed with the European Union's sanctions against Burma,
saying the measures would not help bring real democracy to that country.

Visiting Hungarian Deputy Foreign Minister Andras Barsony said yesterday
that the sanctions were the result of an old policy of the current
15-member EU, and the measure would not succeed in making any targeted
country change its way.

"We don't think the problem of Burma can paralyse development in
Southeast Asia, neither among yourselves nor between the EU and
Southeast Asia. Changes must come through permanent dialogue, not by
isolation," Mr Barsony said. The Burmese issue was among topics
discussed during a bilateral talk between Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai and Mr Barsony.

The Hungarian minister said the sanctions could serve as a temporary
measure but definitely not as a final decision to any kind of problem.

"If you think about a long-term successful policy, you have to recognise
that the sanctions have never been 100% successful, neither in Asia, in
Europe nor in other countries," said Mr Barsony.

The EU imposed sanctions against Burma in 1996, including an arms
embargo, visa bans for senior Burmese officials and freezing of assets.

The sanctions against Burma would be raised for a review after the EU's
expansion from 15 to 25 countries in May next year. The grouping was
occupied with its constitutional methods at the moment, Mr Barsony said.

Hungary is among 10 new countries to join the EU. The other nine are
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus.

Mr Barsony did not say outright whether he backed Rangoon's road map for
democracy in Burma, saying only that every attempt to bring the people
of Burma closer to real democracy should be supported.

He also invited Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to visit Hungary next
year.


----OPINION / OTHER----

The Dallas Morning News     October 31, 2003
Burma: to go or not to go
By RENA PEDERSON

The first question that must be answered if you're considering a trip to
Burma is, should you go?

Many travelers who ordinarily would be drawn by the rare beauty of Burma
are apprehensive. They may have second thoughts about traveling to a
military dictatorship that has been slapped with sanctions by the United
States for its brutality and repression.

So, is it safe? Is it legal? More difficult still, is it moral?

The first one is easy. You will be perfectly safe in Burma so long as
you don't do foolish things such as take photos of military
installations or engage in behaviors that would get you in trouble
anywhere. The country desperately needs tourist business, so you will be
courted by gracious, solicitous people everywhere you go. It has been
observed that the Burmese are "the most charming oppressed people in the
world," and it's true.

Is it legal to travel to the South East Asia country at this time? Yes,
but a little more difficult. The U.S. Congress passed stiffer sanctions
last summer after the junta dragged the leading voice for democracy –
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi – back to prison. But those
sanctions primarily limit travel by Burmese citizens to the United
States and not the other way around. The main hindrance is that American
credit card companies no longer honor charges in Burma, so visitors must
take cash.

That's not difficult to overcome if you travel with a reliable company
that books accommodations and transportation for you in advance. I found
the Butterfield & Robinson cycling and walking tour a fascinating way to
see the countryside with just the right blend of upscale comfort and
back-roads adventures. But other respected companies – such as
Abercrombie & Kent and Caravan Tours – are booking trips as well. (For
information, see www.butterfield.com, www.abercrombiekent.com or
www.caravantours.com.)

Once you have seen the thousands of 12th century temples in Bagan at
sunset – one of the wonders of the world – you will understand why Burma
has fascinated visitors for centuries.

Yes, you will encounter minor difficulties, such as the name problem.
The country may be listed as either Burma or Myanmar in travel
information. Why two names? The ruling junta renamed the country Myanmar
in the 1990s, but the U.S. State Department and many international
organizations still prefer to use "Burma." Democracy groups consider the
current regime illegitimate because the ruling generals still refuse to
recognize the winners of the 1991 elections. Many of those winners have
been imprisoned, tortured or killed.

Which leads us to the moral question. Is it right and proper to go to
Burma at this time? Should visitors provide the hard cash that the
military junta desperately needs? Wouldn't the sanctions be more
effective if the regime were starved of revenue?

Aung San Suu Kyi says tourists should not come now. She wants to force
the regime to the negotiating table. But there are others in the
international community who believe that more good than harm comes from
the trickle of tourist revenue. The tips for hotel and restaurant
workers are probably the only income their families have. The little
restaurants and shops owned by supporters of the democracy movement
would fold without
customers. Already malnutrition affects some 40 percent of the children;
more would starve without the scattering of tourist dollars for small
gifts and services.

I lean to the "go visit" side because tourism is one of the few ways
that Americans can see for themselves what is going on. Otherwise, Burma
is invisible and the repression will continue, unnoticed, off-camera.
Media coverage is so limited that most people are not even aware that
more students were killed there in protests in 1988 than at Tiananmen
Square a year later. The only way to understand what's at stake in Burma
is to go and experience the kindness of everyday people, the incredible
beauty of the unspoiled lakes, the quiet villages and ancient temples.
In the end, the only way to weigh the fate of Burma fairly is to go with
eyes wide open.

I don't think you will regret it. And I doubt you will ever forget it.

Rena Pederson is editor at large of The Dallas Morning News.


Rep. Pitts: SPDC action latest act in regime’s brutal repression of
opponents After asking U.S. to lift sanctions, Burma’s military
dictatorship launches assault on Buddhist opposition

Washington—The night after asking the United States to review its
sanctions regime gainst it, Burma’s military dictatorship, the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), opened fire on a group of Buddhist
monks protesting the arrest of an outspoken critic of the military
junta.  Congressman Pitts issued the following statement.

“It’s ironic to me – and very telling – that on the evening that the
SPDC asked the United States to review our sanction policy against it,
they would open fire on a group of peaceful protestors,” said
Congressman Pitts.  “The act is the latest in a decades long reign of
terror that the SPDC has held over the Burmese people.  The military
junta’s utter disregard for basic human rights and democracy is
deplorable.

“We cannot and should not consider lifting sanctions on this vile regime
unless it ends its coordinated campaign of brutal repression –
particularly against minorities and religious communities.  And we
should not even think of backing away from the demand that the SPDC step
aside and recognize the duly elected leader of the nation – Aung An Suu
Kyi.

“Now is the time for the world to act.  The longer we wait, the more
people will die,” concluded Congressman Pitts.

Congressman Pitts has spent a great deal of time drawing attention to
the dire situation facing Burma.  He has spoken out against the SPDC –
which has engaged in a campaign of enslavement, conscription of child
soldiers, systematic rape, and even ethnic cleansing to impose its will
on men, women, and children.  During a trip to the region, he has
witnessed first hand the living conditions of Burmese refugees.

He chaired a hearing of the House International Relations Subcommittee
on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights to draw
attention to the situation in Burma.


ANNOUNCEMENT: OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE ONLINE APPLICATION SYSTEM
The Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative is pleased to announce the
launch of its online application. We strongly encourage you to use this
system for your next grant application. To enter an application online:

1.      Go to http://oas.soros.org/oas/oas.asp.

2.      Click on “New User?” and register an organization account.

3.      Click on the “Applications” icon at the top of the screen.

4.      Click on the “apply” link in the Burma Project/Southeast Asia
Initiative line.

5.      Navigate the application through the links in the left-menu bar:
“Instructions”, “Contact Information”, and “Funding Request”.

Please be sure to read the application instructions thoroughly before
filling out the application forms. Also, kindly note that the deadline
for the next funding round is December 15, 2003.

If you have any questions about the new system, please feel free to
email Cristina Aragon at maragon at sorosny.org.